Question

I have a custom build target in a visual studio 2008 c# project. Is there a simple way to add a context menu item to the project, so that the custom build target can be executed via the ide? The build target is not integrated into the default build process and has to be started by hand. This step should be simple for all developers and should not force them to execute msbuild from the command line.

Any hint for a simple, working solution?

regards,
Achim

Answer 1

Add a new configuration to the project/solution. Then, close the project file, and open it for editing in XML. Change it’s DefaultTargets attribute to “PickBuild”, and add the following target to the bottom of the file:

<Target Name="PickBuild">
    <CallTarget Targets="Build" Condition=" '$(Configuration)' == 'Debug' "/>
    <CallTarget Targets="Build" Condition=" '$(Configuration)' == 'Release' "/>
    <CallTarget Targets="SpecialTarget" Condition=" '$(Configuration)' == 'NewConfiguration' "/>
</Target>

Now, to execute the special task, the developer just needs to switch configuration in Visual Studio and hit build. And, as requested, this lives within the file, so will work on anyone else’s machine also